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Utah, USC top college video game design programs

The University of Utah now boasts the top undergraduate program in the country for video game design, says the latest report from The Princeton Review. The Salt Lake City school beat out the University of

The University of Utah now boasts the top undergraduate program in the country for video game design, says the latest report from The Princeton Review.

The Salt Lake City school beat out the University of Southern California, which had held the top spot for three years.

"It caused a lot of excitement and a lot of interest in places where maybe we weren't getting interest before," says Mark van Langeveld, one of the founders of Utah's video game design program, which launched in 2007.

The program features staff with prior experience in video game design, including van Langeveld, who worked at Microsoft. "Our goal is to teach the student as many applications so they are ready to be employed the minute they get done with the program," he says.

Although USC falls to second in undergraduate programs, the Los Angeles, Calif., school still hosts the top graduate school program for video game design in the country, followed by the University of Utah.

Schools are judged by several criteria, including curriculum, faculty, facilities and career services. This year's survey featured 148 colleges and universities, a 17% increase from last year.

Also heading upward: salaries. For students who completed an undergraduate program, average salaries were up 3% last year to $55,662, and up 12% ($70,534) for those who finished a graduate school program.

Scroll down for Princeton Review's list of the top video game design programs: